1.29.2009

Playful Stripes Cardigan

There is just one thing I'm mad at myself about. I wish that I had made it one size smaller.

I have a tendency to forget just how petite my daughter really is! I thought she was right in between a 2T and 3T, so I chose the 3T. Yea... Should have gone with the 2T.

I want to assure you that this pattern is sized appropriately, I just chose the wrong size to knit for my daughter!

Ahh well... it will fit her correctly next year!

I chose the name "Playful Stripes" for this sweater because I love the way the colors "play" together in the stripes. It's interesting because the color brown can look one way next to pink and take on an entirely new hue and identity paired with green. It was fun to pair up and play with all of the colors as I was striping the yoke. I also like how the reverse side of garter st splits the colors up.

Did you know that 3 year olds make for extremely high maintenance models?

This photo shoot turned quickly from this...

Hi Mommy! I love you and my new sweater!

To this.... in under 5 minutes.

I'm hungry AND I have to go potty!!!

Toddlers...

Here is some pattern information for those of you who might be interested in knitting it.

I chose Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino for my daughter's sweater. I love this yarn because it is very very soft and it contains wool and cashmere making it very very warm. Also it can be machine washed which is such a necessary option to have with children.

But of course any sport weight yarn that gives you the correct gauge will do.

This could be a great opportunity for you to use up scraps, as I did, because you only need small amounts of each color for the striped sections.

To all of you knitters who are morally against finishing work: This sweater is constructed in a way that requires minimal seaming. The only seam that needs to be sewn up in the end is the sleeves. The sleeves could easily be modified to work in the round, but I found for myself it was easiest to knit them flat because of the striped border on the cuff.

The pattern is knit from the bottom up in one piece. You first knit the body, then the sleeves, and then join them all together for the yoke. I really enjoyed this method of construction!

22 comments:

This is gorgeous. I'm all over it. I just started listening to your podcast and think you're hilarious!! I'm really enjoying it. You should submit this pattern to some magazines. They would be idiots not to publish it. And you're baby is beautiful btw.

this cardi is adorable and so is your little girl... I love that top pic with the squichy face look.... and the one with her head tilted to the side brought back memories of my girls doing that when they were younger... so cute!!

This sweater is so lovely! I saw it already, a couple of monthes ago, but as i consider to knit it, I was asking myself about the stripes :how do you deal with the colours? Did you cross the differents yarns at the beginning of the row, or do you cut each colour? There're so many, I don't know really how to do it nicely..

I didn't cut the colors, I just carried them up the side. If it was a longer stretch to carry, I just twisted a few colors around eachother so there wasn't a big length of yarn to get caught on anything. It worked great, and the buttonband hides it all in the end. :)

It's beautiful! It's not that big. Think of all the years she will be wable to wear it as she grows into it. I love your podcast. I was looking for another podcast to listen to in addition to the Knit Picks Podcast. Good job on everything!